System and method for collision resolution

ABSTRACT

A method embodiment includes receiving, by a network device, collided first and second transmissions, signaling a retransmission request to a first source of the collided first transmission, receiving a retransmitted first transmission, and recovering the collided second transmission using the collided first and second transmissions and the retransmitted first transmission.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to a system and method forcommunications, and, in particular embodiments, to a system and methodfor collision resolution.

BACKGROUND

Generally, communication systems rely on coordination mechanisms toallow for the smooth operation of transmissions in shared accesschannels among multiple transmitters. For example, in wireless fidelity(WiFi) systems, under current IEEE 802.11 WLAN standards, a singlecommunications channel may be shared by multiple stations (STAs). Thetransmission of data frames from the multiple STAs is coordinated by adistributed channel access function (e.g., a distributed coordinationfunction (DCF) based on asynchronous distributed carrier sense multipleaccess with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) mechanism).

Under this scheme, a STA with a data frame for transmission firstperforms a clear channel assessment (CCA) by sensing the wirelesschannel for a fixed duration of time (e.g., a DCF inter-frame space(DIFS)). If the STA senses the channel is busy, the STA waits until thechannel is clear for an entire DIFS. The STA then further waits a randombackoff period before transmitting the data frame. The random backoffperiod is implemented via a backoff timer having multiple backoff timeslots, and the backoff timer decreases by one slot each time the channelis idle for a time slot. The backoff timer freezes whenever the STAsenses the channel is busy. When the backoff timer reaches zero, the STAstarts the frame transmission.

If the data is received successfully, the receiver (e.g., an accesspoint (AP)) will indicate successful data receipt to the transmittingSTA, for example, by sending an acknowledgement (ACK) frame. If thetransmitting STA does not receive an ACK during a predetermined timeinterval, the transmitting STA assumes a collision has occurred andretransmits the data frame after another random backoff period. Eachtime a frame is not acknowledged, the transmitting STA doubles itsbackoff window in which a random backoff counter is selected, until themaximum backoff window is reached. This doubling of random backoffperiods every time a transmission fails is known as exponential backoff.

Generally, this system works well for collision avoidance and resolutionin systems where STAs can effectively sense other STAs using thechannel. However, the system may not work well when transmitting STAsare hidden from each other (e.g., other STAs accessing the channel maybe outside of a particular STA's sensing coverage). In systems having alarge number of STAs the risk of hidden STAs may be quite high, and thenumber of collisions may be severe. Furthermore, while collisionresolution using exponential backoff may reduce the probability ofcollisions in retransmission, a doubled backoff window leads to longeraccess delay and degrades the quality of service (QoS) performance ofSTAs. Additionally, each time a collision occurs, both colliding STAsmust retransmit their data frames leading to inefficient channelutilization and wasted system resources (e.g., channel air time andbattery power). In current WiFi systems, channel utilization efficiencycould be less than 40% due to collisions and the involved collisionavoidance and resolution overheads. That is, idle channel periods causedby the implementation of interframe spaces (e.g., DIFS) and randombackoff periods may be relatively high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other problems are generally solved or circumvented, andtechnical advantages are generally achieved, by preferred embodiments ofthe present invention, which provides a system and method for collisionresolution.

In accordance with an embodiment, a method for collision resolutionincludes receiving, by a network device, collided first and secondtransmissions signaling a retransmission request to a source of thecollided first transmission, receiving a retransmitted firsttransmission, and recovering the collided second transmission using thecollided first and second transmissions and the retransmitted firsttransmission.

In accordance with another embodiment, a network device includes aprocessor, and a computer readable storage medium storing programmingfor execution by the processor. The programming including instructionsto receive a first and a second transmission. The first and the secondtransmissions are collided. The programming includes furtherinstructions to buffer the first and the second transmissions, partiallydecode the first transmission, transmit a retransmission request frameto a first source of the first transmission, successfully receive aretransmitted first transmission, and attempt to decode the secondtransmission using the buffered first and second transmissions and theretransmitted first transmission.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method for collision resolutionincludes transmitting, by a network device, a transmission. The networkdevice retransmits the transmission in accordance with a firstretransmission procedure when a retransmission frame for thetransmission is received. A second retransmission procedure is startedfor the transmission when an acknowledgement frame is not receivedwithin a certain time period from a latest transmission time of thetransmission. The second retransmission is cancelled when a delayedacknowledgement frame is received.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, a network device includes aprocessor, and a computer readable storage medium storing programmingfor execution by the processor. The programming including instructionsto transmit, by a network device, a transmission, retransmit thetransmission in accordance with a first retransmission procedure when aretransmission frame for the transmission, start a second retransmissionprocedure for the transmission when an acknowledgement frame is notreceived within a time period from a latest transmission time of thetransmission, and cancel the second retransmission procedure when adelayed acknowledgement frame is received.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are flow diagrams of a collision resolution timeline inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a an example transmission framework in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of receiver activity in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of transmitter activity in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a network in accordance with variousembodiments; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computing system, which may be used toimplement various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The making and using of embodiments are discussed in detail below. Itshould be appreciated, however, that the present invention provides manyapplicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety ofspecific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed are merelyillustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention, and do notlimit the scope of the invention.

Various embodiments are described in a specific context, namely awireless fidelity (WiFi) network. Various embodiments may also beapplied, however, to other random access networks such as Aloha, slottedAloha, 0/1/p persistent CSMA (carrier sense multiple access, and thelike.

Various embodiments include a collision resolution mechanism to improvetransmission efficiency. The collision resolution mechanism may beimplemented in combination with existing coordination schemes (e.g.,coordination schemes using a distributed coordination function (DCF)based on asynchronous distributed carrier sense multiple access withcollision avoidance (CSMA/CA) mechanism). A receiver (e.g., an accesspoint (AP) network device) partially decodes a first data frame of apair of collided frames when collision occurs to determine the source ofthe first data frame. The collided frames are buffered, and the receiverinforms the source of the first data frame (e.g., a station (STA)network device) to retransmit the data using, for example, a negativeacknowledgement (NACK) frame or by broadcasting information (e.g.,reception time of the first data frame or sequence number) so that thesource of the first data frame can identify itself and retransmit thedata. After successfully receiving the retransmitted data, the receiverrecovers the second data frame using the pair of collided frames and theretransmitted data (e.g., using successive interference cancelling (SIC)techniques). Based on the success of recovery, the receiver sends anacknowledgement (ACK) frame to either or both transmitters. Therefore,the source of the second data frame (e.g., a second STA) may not need toretransmit data the second data frame. Various embodiments allow forincreased transmission efficiency because collisions may be resolved byhaving only one STA as opposed to both STAs retransmit collided dataframes. Furthermore, the retransmission of the first data frame may bedone immediately or after random backoff with a normal or a shortenedbackoff window, reducing the time required for collision resolution.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a WiFi network connectionoperation as is known in the art. Various STAs (e.g., STA A and STA B)connect to a wireless network (e.g., WiFi), using an access point (AP)such as STA C. STA C serves as a connection point between STAs A and Band a network (e.g., a wireless local area network (WLAN) in a fixednetwork or a wide area network (WAN)). Communications between STAs A, B,and C may be conducted over a shared channel coordinated by, forexample, a distributed coordination function (DCF) based on asynchronousdistributed carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance(CSMA/CA) mechanism). Although FIG. 5 illustrates two STAs connected toa network using one AP, various embodiments may be applied to othernetworks having a different number of STAs and/or APs.

FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram of a pair of collided transmissions(e.g., data frames). Data frame 102 may be sent by a first transmitter(e.g., STA A), and data frame 104 may be sent by a second transmitter(e.g., STA B) using the same channel. Because of the random accessnature of current WiFi networks, partial collisions are likely. That is,data frame 102 and data frame 104 do not fully overlap in the timedomain because the two transmissions are sent at different times (i.e.,times t1 and t2 respectively). Only portions 106 of data frames 102 and104 are actually collided. Therefore, the receiver (e.g., STA C, whichmay be an AP) may be able to partially decode information from thecollided frames and use the partially decoded information to determinerelevant information such as the transmission source of the data frames,channel quality, transmission time, and the like.

For example, FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of an example dataframe format 110 used under current IEEE 802.11 standards. Data frames102 and 104 may be formatted in accordance with format 110. Format 110includes fields 112, 114, 116, 118, and 120 for a physical (PHY) layerconvergence protocol (PLCP) preamble (12 symbols), a PLCP header (1symbol), a medium access control (MAC) header (36 octets), data (up to7951 octets), and a frame check sequence (FCS) (4 octets) respectively.Data frames are transmitted in the order illustrated in FIG. 1B. Thatis, PLCP preamble field 112 is transmitted first, PLCP header field 114is transmitted second, and so on. In a typical network, the airtime ofPHY header transmissions (e.g., PLCP preamble 112 and header 114) may beabout 20 μs for legacy STAs or up to about 64 μs for high throughputSTAs with eight spatial streams, and the airtime of MAC header 116 maybe 48 μs or less. In contrast, the airtime of data 118 and FCS 120 maybe in the order of hundreds of μs or more. Therefore, it isstatistically likely that when collision occurs, the collided portion(i.e., portions 106) will start in data field 118 and the receiver(e.g., an AP) may be able to decode PLPC preamble 112, PLPC header 114,and/or MAC header 116. For example, even though frames 102 and 104 havecollided, it is statistically likely that frame 102's PHY header and/orMAC header was successfully transmitted between times t1 and t2. Thereceiver may be able to decode these successfully transmitted portionsto determine relevant information about frame 102 (e.g., its source).

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram collision resolution at a receiverhaving received collided frames 102 and 104 depicted in FIG. 1 inaccordance with various embodiments. The collision resolution proceduredepends on the amount of information the receiver can successfullydecode. For example, if the receiver can decode both the PHY and MACheaders of a frame (e.g., frame 102), the receiver is able to checkwhether it is the targeted receiver of the frame from the PHY header.The receiver may also determine the identity of the transmitter (e.g.,STA A) from by decoding a MAC identification (ID) in the MAC headerfield of the transmission. The receiver may unicast a retransmissionrequest frame (e.g., a negative acknowledgement (NACK) frame 108) to thesource of the transmission (e.g., STA A) requesting a retransmission ofthe frame (e.g., frame 102). The retransmission request frame mayinclude a MAC address of source of the transmission (e.g., STA A), alast transmission time of the requested data frame (e.g., frame 102), asequence number of the requested data frame, combinations thereof, orthe like.

If the receiver cannot decode the MAC header of the transmission, but isable to successfully decode all or portions of the PHY header, thereceiver may broadcast a retransmission request frame (e.g., NACK frame108) targeted toward the transmitter of the frame (e.g., STA A for dataframe 102). The broadcast may include information from the PHY headerthat would allow a transmitter to identify itself as the targetedreceiver of the retransmission request frame. For example, the broadcastmay include time information (e.g., t1 for frame 102), an identifyingsequence number, a hash of received information (e.g., associationidentifier, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), and/or address of thetransmitter), or the like regarding the collided transmission (e.g.,frame 102).

In either scenario, the receiver buffers the received collided frames102 and 104. Upon successful receipt of a retransmitted data frame 102′from STA A, the receiver may decode data frame 104 using frame 102′ andbuffered collided frames 102 and 104. The recovery procedure mayinclude, for example, a successive interference cancellation technique.The successive interference cancellation technique may take into accountany change in channel state information (represented by, for example,complex gains) between collided frames 102 and 104 and frame 102′. Forexample, the receiver may decode frame 102′. The receiver may thenre-modulate and re-channel frame 102′ using the channel stateinformation of collided frame 102. The receiver may determine thischannel quality information from the partially decoded portions ofcollided frame 102 by decoding its preamble. The receiver then subtractsthe re-modulated and re-channeled frame 102′ from the collided frames102 and 104. That is, the receiver treats the re-modulated andre-channeled frame 102′ as known interference in decoding frame 104.Alternatively, any suitable procedure for decoding individual signalsfrom a composite signal may be used.

If data frame 104 can be successfully recovered and the receiver is thetargeted receiver of data frame 104, the receiver acknowledges theproper reception of data frames 102 and 104 to both STAs A and B (e.g.,by sending ACK frame 109 to both STAs A and B). If data frame 104 cannotbe recovered successfully or if the receiver is not the targetedreceiver of data frame 104, the receiver only acknowledges the properreceipt of data frame 102 to STA A. If the recovered data frame 104 istargeted to another receiver (e.g., a different AP), the receiver maysimply discard the recovered data.

Although FIGS. 1A and 2 illustrates the collided data frames as beingasynchronous transmissions, various embodiments may also apply tosynchronous transmissions (i.e., where two collided transmissions weresent at the same time). Synchronous transmissions may include caseswhere the PHY header and/or MAC header of at least one of the collidedtransmissions can be decoded. For example, a PHY header/MAC header'schannel quality requirement for successful decoding is generally lowerthan the channel quality required to decode data portions of atransmission. That is, even if data portions of a transmission cannot befully decoded due to a collision, it may still be possible to decode thePHY header and/or MAC header of a transmission. In cases of synchronoustransmissions, various collision resolution processes may besubstantially similar to the processes used for asynchronous collisions.

Furthermore, various embodiments may also be applied to transmissionshaving multiple collided data frames (i.e., transmissions where three ormore data frames collide). In the scenario where more than two dataframes are collided, the receiver may iteratively decode the variouscollided frames. For example, suppose the receiver receives atransmission with three collided data frames. The receiver may sendfirst retransmission request for a first collided data frame and recoverthe other two collided data frames using a retransmitted first dataframe. The receiver may then decode the MAC and/or PHY header of thesecond data frame and send a second retransmission request for a secondcollided frame. Finally, the receiver may use the retransmitted seconddata frame to recover the third collided frame. Using this iterativeapproach, a receiver may recover all the collided data frames in atransmission.

At the transmitter side, if a unicast retransmission request frame isreceived, the targeted receiver of the retransmission request frame(i.e., the transmitter, STA A) will retransmit the data either as apriority or after a random backoff. Priority retransmission may includeevaluating the channel for a short interframe space (SIFS) in accordancewith IEEE 802.11 standards for sending priority transmissions.Retransmission time may be shortened by not using an exponential backoffprocedure for retransmissions that are explicitly requested.

On the other hand, if a broadcast retransmission request frame isdetected, the transmitter may first determine whether the retransmissionrequest is for the data transmitted by the transmitter. For example, ifthe broadcast retransmission request frame includes a time index of theinitial transmission, the transmitter may determine if it transmitted adata frame at the time index in the retransmission request. If so, thenthe transmitter determines it should retransmit the applicable dataframe accordingly. If the receiver did not transmit a data frame at thetime index in the broadcasted retransmission request, then thetransmitter may disregard the retransmission request.

If no retransmission request frame is received, the transmitters mayimplement a legacy collision resolution procedure. For example, if atransmitter (e.g., STA B) does not receive a retransmission requestframe, it will implement a CSMA/CA collision resolution mechanism andwait for an ACK frame. If the transmitter does not receive an ACK framewithin a certain time period (e.g., before an ACK timer expires), thetransmitter may retransmit the data using an exponential backoffprocedure. However, the transmitter may cancel the retransmissionprocedure when a delayed ACK frame (i.e., an ACK received after the ACKtimer expires) is received. Furthermore, under legacy collisionresolution procedures, the transmitter may advantageously delayretransmission while the receiver signals a retransmission request frameto another transmitter (e.g., STA A) and receives a retransmitted frame(e.g., frame 102′). This may occur without the need to implement furtherprocedures because an exponential backoff timer freezes whenever thechannel is busy (e.g., while the channel is being used forretransmission from another STA) under existing procedures.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart of receiver activity (e.g., an AP) inaccordance with various embodiments. In step 302, the receiver waits forany incoming signals (i.e., transmissions). When a signal is received,in step 304, the receiver buffers the signals until the receiver sensesthe channel is idle (i.e., the signals have been completely received).In step 306, the receiver determines if the signals are fully decodable(e.g., if no collision occurred). If the signals are fully decodable, instep 308, the receiver decodes the signals. The receiver may also sendan ACK frame to a source of the signals.

If the signals are not fully decodable (e.g., if a collision occurred),in step 310, the receiver determines if a MAC header is decodable. Ifthe MAC header is decodable, in step 312, the receiver determines if itis the targeted receiver of the signals (e.g., from reading informationin a PHY header). If the receiver isn't the targeted receiver of thesignals, the receiver discards the buffered information in step 322. Ifthe receiver is the targeted receiver of the signals, in step 314, thereceiver sends a retransmission request frame to the transmitter of thesignals. The receiver may determine the identity of the transmitter fromreading a MAC address in the decoded MAC header. In step 316, thereceiver waits until it successfully receives retransmission datasuccessfully. As part of this waiting process, the receiver may sendmultiple retransmission requests until a successful retransmission isreceived. After the retransmission data is successfully received, instep 318, the receiver decodes the other frame in the collided signalsand discards the buffered data. The receiver may decode the other frameusing, for example, successive interference cancelling techniques. Thereceiver may also send ACK frames to any applicable transmitters of thesignals.

If the MAC header is not decodable, the receiver determines if the PHYheader is decodable in step 320. If not, in step 322, the receiverdiscards the buffered information and waits for further signals. If thePHY header is decodable, the receiver determines if it is the targetreceiver of the signals in step 324 from information in the PHY header.If not, again, the receiver discards the buffered information in step322. If the receiver is the targeted receiver, then in step 326, thereceiver broadcasts a retransmission request targeted towards atransmitter of the signals. The retransmission request containsidentifying information about the signals. The identifying informationmay include, for example, the transmission time of the signals, anidentifying sequence number, or the like. In step 328, the receiverwaits for successful receipt of the retransmitted data. If theretransmitted data is not received successful (e.g., if noretransmission is received within a certain time interval), the receiverdiscards the buffered information. Otherwise, if the retransmitted datais successfully received, the received decodes the signals using thebuffered information and the retransmitted data in step 318. Thereceiver may also send ACK frames to any applicable transmitters of thedata.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of transmitter activity (e.g., a STA) inaccordance with various embodiments. In step 402, the transmitterdetermines if it has any data for transmission. In step 404, thetransmitter transmits the data. The data may be formatted so that a PHYheader and MAC header of the transmission are transmitted before anydata is transmitted using, for example, format 110 (see FIG. 1B). Instep 406, the transmitter waits a certain time interval to receive anACK frame from the receiver. If an ACK is received within the timeinterval, then the transmission was successful and the process is over.If an ACK is not received within the time interval (e.g., before an ACKtimer expires), the transmitter determines if a retransmission requestwas received in step 408.

If a retransmission request was received, in step 410, the receiverdetermines if the retransmission request was unicast. If theretransmission request was unicast, the transmitter retransmits theframe either as a priority transmission (e.g., after a SIFS) or after arandom backoff period in step 412.

If the retransmission request was not unicast (e.g., it wasbroadcasted), the receiver determines if retransmission request is forthe data transmitted in step 404 using identifying information in thebroadcast. For example, the broadcast may contain a time index of atransmission, and the receiver can determine if the transmission wassent at the time index. If the retransmission request is for thetransmitted data (e.g., because the time index matches), then in step412, the receiver retransmits the transmission either as a priority(e.g., after a SIFS) or after a random backoff period. If noretransmission request is received or if the receiver is not the targetof a retransmission request, then the receiver retransmits the frameusing legacy collision resolution procedures (e.g., using an exponentialbackoff) in step 416. However, if the receiver receives a delayed ACKframe, the receiver cancels the retransmission in step 416.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a processing system that may be used forimplementing the devices and methods disclosed herein. Specific devicesmay utilize all of the components shown, or only a subset of thecomponents, and levels of integration may vary from device to device.Furthermore, a device may contain multiple instances of a component,such as multiple processing units, processors, memories, transmitters,receivers, etc. The processing system may comprise a processing unitequipped with one or more input/output devices, such as a speaker,microphone, mouse, touchscreen, keypad, keyboard, printer, display, andthe like. The processing unit may include a central processing unit(CPU), memory, a mass storage device, a video adapter, and an I/Ointerface connected to a bus.

The bus may be one or more of any type of several bus architecturesincluding a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, videobus, or the like. The CPU may comprise any type of electronic dataprocessor. The memory may comprise any type of system memory such asstatic random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), read-only memory (ROM), a combination thereof,or the like. In an embodiment, the memory may include ROM for use atboot-up, and DRAM for program and data storage for use while executingprograms.

The mass storage device may comprise any type of storage deviceconfigured to store data, programs, and other information and to makethe data, programs, and other information accessible via the bus. Themass storage device may comprise, for example, one or more of a solidstate drive, hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, an optical diskdrive, or the like.

The video adapter and the I/O interface provide interfaces to coupleexternal input and output devices to the processing unit. Asillustrated, examples of input and output devices include the displaycoupled to the video adapter and the mouse/keyboard/printer coupled tothe I/O interface. Other devices may be coupled to the processing unit,and additional or fewer interface cards may be utilized. For example, aserial interface card (not shown) may be used to provide a serialinterface for a printer.

The processing unit also includes one or more network interfaces, whichmay comprise wired links, such as an Ethernet cable or the like, and/orwireless links to access nodes or different networks. The networkinterface allows the processing unit to communicate with remote unitsvia the networks. For example, the network interface may providewireless communication via one or more transmitters/transmit antennasand one or more receivers/receive antennas. In an embodiment, theprocessing unit is coupled to a local-area network or a wide-areanetwork for data processing and communications with remote devices, suchas other processing units, the Internet, remote storage facilities, orthe like.

While this invention has been described with reference to illustrativeembodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of theillustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention,will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to thedescription. It is therefore intended that the appended claims encompassany such modifications or embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for collision resolution comprising:receiving, by a network device, collided first and second transmissions;signaling a retransmission request to a first source of the collidedfirst transmission; receiving a retransmitted first transmission; andrecovering the collided second transmission using the collided first andsecond transmissions and the retransmitted first transmission.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising sending a first acknowledgement tothe first source; and sending a second acknowledgement to a secondsource of the second transmission when recovering the collided secondtransmission is successful and the network device is a targeted receiverof the second transmission.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingbuffering the collided first and second transmissions and decoding aportion of the collided first transmission.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein decoding the portion of the collided first transmissioncomprises determining the first source of the collided firsttransmission, and wherein signaling the retransmission request comprisesunicasting the retransmission request to the first source.
 5. The methodof claim 3, wherein decoding the portion of the collided firsttransmission comprises decoding a transmission time, sequenceidentifier, hash data of a transmission address, hash data of anassociation identifier, or hash data of a cyclic redundancy check dataof the collided first transmission, and wherein signaling theretransmission request comprises broadcasting a retransmission requestincluding the decoded transmission time, sequence identifier, hash dataof the transmission address, hash data of the association identifier, orhash data of the cyclic redundancy check.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving a first start of the collided firsttransmission at a first time frame; and receiving a second start of thecollided second transmission at a second time frame, wherein the firsttime frame is prior to the second time frame.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein a first start of the collided first transmission and a secondstart of the collided second transmissions are received simultaneously.8. The method of claim 1, wherein recovering the collided secondtransmission comprises a successive interference cancellation procedure.9. The method of claim 1, wherein the collided first and secondtransmissions are collided with a third transmission, and the methodfurther comprising recovering the third transmission using an iterativeprocess.
 10. A network device comprising: a processor; and a computerreadable storage medium storing programming for execution by theprocessor, the programming including instructions to: receive a firstand a second transmission, wherein the first and the secondtransmissions are collided; buffer the first and the secondtransmissions; partially decode the first transmission; transmit aretransmission request frame to a first source of the firsttransmission; successfully receive a retransmitted first transmission;and attempt to decode the second transmission using the buffered firstand second transmissions and the retransmitted first transmission. 11.The network device of claim 10, wherein the programming includes furtherinstructions to send an first acknowledgement frame to the first source;and send a second acknowledgement frame to a second source of the secondtransmission when the attempt to decode the second transmission issuccessful and the network device is a target receiver of the secondtransmission.
 12. The network device of claim 10, wherein the firsttransmission is formatted in accordance with a data frame formatcomprising a physical layer convergence procedure (PLCP) preamble field,a PLCP header field, a medium access control (MAC) header field, and adata field.
 13. The network device of claim 12, wherein the PLCPpreamble, the PLCP header, and the MAC header fields are configured tobe transmitted before the data field.
 14. The network device of claim10, wherein the retransmission frame comprises a MAC address of thefirst source of the first collided frame, transmission/reception timeinformation of the first collided frame, a sequence number of the firstcollided frame, or combinations thereof.